Ordered a 2008 Ford F250

Marcussen · Apr 2, 2007

Saturday I ordered a F250 crew cab with the V-10 gas engine. Auto transmission. 4.10 limited slips. It is still several weeks/months before the truck arrives. Any suggestions for a break in that will give me long life?

I have heard different things, one method I read about is to drive at 30 mph and then accelerate full throttle to 50 mph the let it coast back to 30 and repeat 10 times. This will seat the piston rings etc.
After that take it easy on it for the next 500 miles.

Other suggest to take it easy for 500 miles then use it normaly.

tractorsanmore · Apr 2, 2007

It will tell you about break in when you read the owners manual , but basically I think it mainly tells you to avoid prolonged driving at a set speed ( on the highway ) But what I think is more important is to change the oil & filter at 1000 miles or so , and no heavy trailer pulling etc...

rjoseph · Apr 2, 2007

Can you up-grade to the diesel? I have a F350 Dually w/6.4 diesel, it is the best diesel you will ever own. But don't take my word, GO and take one for a ride...Bob

HGM · Apr 3, 2007

Just drive it..... Break in is'nt as important with todays engines and oils.. I would personally avoid heavy towing for the first couple thousand miles, but just drive it like you intend on driving it at 200k mi... 1000mi oil change isnt that critical anylonger either, but it wouldnt hurt. It would get anything left in the block durring initial fill, out of the crankcase, but so will the filter.. Enjoy...

It does run good doesnt it Bob?? Its the first diesel I have been around that you could balance a nickle on from idle to 1500rpm(maybe higher, didnt try).. It doesnt mean much to most, but its REALLY smooth.... the V10 is a great engine too though.. I dont believe you could go wrong with either, though fuel economy will be lower with the gas burner..

Marcussen · Apr 3, 2007

rjoseph said:
Can you up-grade to the diesel? I have a F350 Dually w/6.4 diesel, it is the best diesel you will ever own. But don't take my word, GO and take one for a ride...Bob

I did test drive the diesel 6.4 (very nice)

but I can't justify the cost. The only way a diesel pays off is if you trade often (better resale) or drive a lot miles (better MPG).

What is your MPG with the new 6.4 PSD?

I kept my old truck 13 years and got 139000 miles in it (never got to the point where it would be cost efficent to have a diesel).

Besides keeping one of the new diesels a long time scares me with extremely high maintenance cost. I mean you can't even get to the engine under those twin turbos. I hate to see the cost of a repair that requires the cab off to get to the engine. Plus it's a first year engine with several new features. (I hear they come with built in flame throwers

)

Marcussen · Apr 3, 2007

tractorsanmore said:
It will tell you about break in when you read the owners manual , but basically I think it mainly tells you to avoid prolonged driving at a set speed ( on the highway ) But what I think is more important is to change the oil & filter at 1000 miles or so , and no heavy trailer pulling etc...

After some research it is basicaly vary the speed with some full throtlle accelations mixed in to seat the rings (first 100 miles or so) and no prolonged solid cruise control speeds the first 500 miles and no trailer pulling for 500 miles. I am planning on changing oil at 500 miles to get the wear in metal out, I may change again at 1000. 7 quarts of oil and filter is cheap.

Asymtave · Apr 3, 2007

Interesting to note that Ford balance shafted their V10 while Dodge did not. I think that a V10 is an inherently unbalanced motor.

jayhaitch · Apr 3, 2007

Asymtave: you're right. By my understanding, the V10 is less balanced. Engines have primary and secondary balance. Primary is in the direction of piston travel. Old twin motorbikes would have one piston on the upstroke while the second is going down to even out the big forces that would occur if both piston were travelling in the same direction. That's why single cylinder motorbikes were less popular as time went on.

Secondary balance occurs when you have a V configuration. Think back to high school physics. Remember vectors? Little arrows showing the amount and direction of force? Because looking end on, a V engine's pistons are going horiz. and vertically at the same time, the sum of the two vectors is the final force causing vibration. To make a smooth V engine, you want primary and secondary balance. IIRC, a V-10 having 5 pistons each bank can't be made with as equal an amount of opposing vector force because it's an odd number on each bank. Hence, the super smooth Jag V-12, or the old Caddy V-16. I'm not an engineer, but that's what I remember from lots of engine reading in my younger days, you know, before I matured, became a responsible family man, and only had time for work and chores

And some fun tractor time mind you......

Joe1 · Apr 6, 2007

jayhatch:

Not to get too far off the original post, but I understood that some of the parallel twins like Triumphs had both pistons travelling in the same direction at the same time to avoid what is known as a "rocking couple". Maybe someone out there could straighten me out.

NoMo · Apr 6, 2007

Marcussen said:
After some research it is basically vary the speed with some full throttle accelerations mixed in to seat the rings (first 100 miles or so) and no prolonged solid cruise control speeds ...

This is what I've done with the four V10s that I've owned over the years. Broke them in the way that I drive them normally... just no sustained speeds at first.

The instructions given to you by Fred (at FTE) are also good. Several people have used them and are happy owners. The only real difference between his method & mine is his RPM limits. I don't see a problem running it up higher.

When you do your oil & filter change, be sure to use the correct stuff. Can't go wrong with the MotorCraft branded products and they are reasonably priced at Wal-Mart and various parts stores.